Rodents and their elimination have been the concern of mankind throughout recorded history. Because they spread disease, compete for food and soil and destroy foodstuffs and structures, effective and safe methods of elimination of these creatures have been a major concern to the public.
Because rodents share dwelling that humans live in and frequent, the use of poisoned baits for destroying these pests has become as menacing as the inherent dangers of the rodents themselves.
As mice and rats become immune to first generation poisoned baits, more powerful and toxic substances were needed to effectuate control and, these toxins were placed in areas accessible to children, pets and wildlife.
As more of these second generation baits reached the public the danger of contact became more pronounced and several methods of protecting and isolating these baits were developed.
These are characterized by U.S. Letters Patents Nos. such as 4,132,026 1/1979 Dodds . . . 43/131, 4,161,079 7/1979 Hill, 4,281,471 8/1981 Jenkins, 4,349,981 9/1982 Sherman, 4,031,653 6/1977 Jordon, 4,541,198 9/1985 Sherman, 4,400,904 8/1983 Baker, 1,804,891, 3/1931 Newman, 4,026,064, 3/1977 Baker, 4,619,071 9/1986, Willis 4,541,198, 8/1985 Sherman and foreign Pat. Nos. 6617388 Netherlands, 2111022 9/1972 Federal Republic of Germany.
The inventions cited above all concern themselves with the protection of poisoned baits in containers that allow access and egress by the target rodent species and are designed for direct use in the destruction of a rodent population.
All prior art depended upon the placement of bait in a sealed off area within the containment and dispencing device or the addition of poisoned baits to the baiters interior by removing a cover and introducing the poison.
In order to assure the safety of the bait, the units had to remain in a stable position and/or when introducing new bait the user needed to actually handle the poisoned substance and introduce it into the baiter manually.
The use of a rib or channel to prevent the bait in block form from moving laterally, did not, prevent the bait from being shaken loose and falling free when the containment device was inverted and therefore poison could be manipulated from the containers, with their entrance and egress ports quite easily.
In general, the prior art was defective in not providing a method or refilling the containment devices without the need to come into contact with the poisons and by ignoring the fact that these units needed to be refilled constantly as the rodents consumed the baits.
The object of the instant invention is therefore to provide the user with a device that contains the bait prior to its insertion into a bait station and to isolate these poisons from direct contact with the user as they store and displace the toxin.
Still another object of the instant invention is to provide a sealed container that totally isolates the bait prior to its use and at a time that it is most vulnerable to tampering with by children or may be within the reach of pets and wildlife.
A further object of the instant invention, and an additional defect in the prior art, is to provide a method for disposing of unused bait that has been left over after the completion of a rodent control program in a manner that protects it from contact with the environment.
Another object of the invention is to provide a premeasured and easily dispenced amount of poisoned bait that can be controlled and tailored to an individualized rodent control program and to be able to plave this portion of bait in an independent containment device without the need to come into direct contact with the toxin.
And still another object of the instant invention is to provide an integrated method of utilizing an independent containment device with a tamper resistant method of dispencing poisoned bait into these containment housings.
A further feature of the invention is to provide a method of dispencing and containment both in the placement and use of the baits that will preclude the baits from coming loose if the device is tipped or inverted.
These and other novel featrures of the art along with additional advantages and feature will become apparent when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings.
The scope of this invention is not limited by the drawing and description alone and the teachings of the art open a wide spectrum of advancement not beforeshown in any prior patent or disclosure.